Morning Mashup: Draft Possibilities

Just nine days away from the NHL Entry Draft in Pittsburgh (and, can you believe it, eighteen away from UFA day), SB Nation has been conducting a mock draft with the consultation of its team bloggers. Last week, I promoted the Leafs‘ need to go for some “high ceiling” offensive talent with their fifth overall pick, if possible. How does this relate? Well, it was Pension Plan Puppets’ turn to pick in the SB Nation mock draft and Â they were dealt a scenario wherein all of the forwards in the top five discussion were already selected and off the board.

It’s a muddy scenario for the Leafs, if it plays out that way. Those high on blueliner Ryan Murray (who PPP selected) may not see it the same, but the Leafs seem most interested in adding a high end offensive talent like Grigorenko or Galchenyuk according to most reports. It leads me to the question: if the Leafs find themselves in a position where all of Alex Galchenyuk, Mikhail Grigorenko and Filip Forsberg are gone by five, what should Burke do? After those four it seems to drop off in terms of offensive talent, or at least it becomes anyone’s guess as to who the next best forward is.

Should Burke and co.:

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A) have traded up already.B) draft the BPA (best player available) defenceman, in this case probably Ryan Murray.C) Trade down, take two forwards like Radek Faksa and Tom Wilson (might not be doable, but for the sake of an example).

Should the Edmonton Oilers move #1The Leafs are mentioned, of course. I won’t doubt Burke will inquire, but the yearly tradition of linking Burke to the first overall because he traded for the Sedin picks once is getting old and seems nothing more than a traffic grab. I love Friedman’s stuff, but basing the rumour in Burke’s penchant for attention on the “big stage” is just silly. That’s why he never does anything on deadline day, right?

Leafs prospect Colborne says he had wrist injury for most of the season
In case you missed it, Joe Colborne will undergo wrist surgery and spend the off season recovering. He battled the injury “most of the season,” so I wouldn’t be surprised if the ailment coincided with his drop off in point production from scathing hot at the start of the year to ice cold for the rest of it.

Leafs well positioned for draftInteresting quote from Burke: â€œWe have some positional needs,â€ Burke said. â€œBecause the players are close in quality and close in terms of how we rank them, this might be one time we make a positional pick. Iâ€™ve never done that before, but I might.â€

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Alec Brownscombe is the founder of MapleLeafsHotStove.com, where he has written daily about the Leafs since September of 2008. He was also the editor of the 2009-13 Maple Leafs Annual magazines. You can contact him at [email protected]